At that time, Prime Minister Zhengqi was ordered by Emperor Xuanyu to arrive in the southeast coastal area to investigate whether the local officials and the people had colluded with the Japanese invaders. In the end, it was found that there were several cities on the southeast coast, and only the city lord of Wenchuan City and the general who defended the city were guilty of corruption and collusion with foreign enemies, and there were many petty officials and officials who formed parties with them for personal gain, not only in Wenchuan City, but also arrested many surrounding cities at that time. According to the emperor's order, all those who colluded with foreign enemies should be sentenced to death for the crime of treason, but Prime Minister Zhengqi did not do that. He just beheaded the city lord and the general who defended the city, and all the other officials were locked up in the Wenchuan City prison, waiting to be released.

But about this matter, Taihao is not aware. After listening to Ji Ting's judicial question, Tai Hao pondered for a moment and said: "According to the laws of the Eastern Empire, these people who colluded with foreign enemies have committed the crime of rebellion and rebellion, and they should all be beheaded. ”

Ji Ting replied: "In the Wenchuan City Prison, a total of 58 prisoners were held who were investigated and punished by the Prime Minister Zhengqi, of which 20 were arrested for the crime of perverting the law for money, and the remaining 38 were all for the crime of collaborating with the enemy. ”

Taihao nodded and continued to ask, "Did Zheng Qi Zai say how to deal with it at the beginning?" ”

"Prime Minister Zhengqi said that all the men in these prisoners were sent to the army, and all the women were exiled." Ji Ting said, "But the lower officials think that this practice is inappropriate, because at present, the Japanese are still rampant, and directly confiscating them into the army or exiling them is probably bringing convenience to the Japanese invaders, and in case they are rebelled against by the Japanese again, it will not be a beneficial thing for us." ”

Tai Hao asked, "You mean that the Japanese will contact these convicted prisoners and then use those prisoners against you?" ”

Ji Ting said: "Xiaguan thinks that it is not impossible to do this, according to Xiaguan's investigation, among this batch of prisoners, there is a prisoner who is the wife and brother of the dog, named Pengshi. He was captured at Taichuan Castle, when he was a captain in an army in Taichuan Castle, and he had led the Japanese into Taichuan Castle. ”

Tai Hao pondered for a long time and responded: "In addition to this Pengshi, are there any prisoners in the prison who are related to those pirates and pirates?" ”

Ji Ting said: "Except for this Pengshi, no other prisoners have been found to be related to the pirates or pirates. ”

Taihao said: "This official has a plan......

"What's the strategy?" Ji Ting hurriedly asked.

Taihao said: "When you publicly behead Peng!" ”

Hearing this, all the officials present couldn't help but gasp, and Ji Ting asked, "Are you just going to behead Peng Shi?" ”

Tai Hao thought for a moment and asked, "How much did you catch from Taichuan City at the beginning?" ”

Ji Ting said: "A total of nine prisoners of all sizes were arrested in Taichuan City. ”

Tai Hao said: "Seven days later, all these nine prisoners will be taken to Taichuan City and beheaded!" ”

Ji Ting asked, "Escort to Taichuan City?" Isn't it too risky? ”

Tai Hao said: "This official knows that now the power of the Japanese has penetrated into several cities along the coast, not only those who come from the sea, maybe there are many Japanese in Wenchuan City pretending to be the people of Wenchuan City, in fact, on the way to Wenchuan City to take office, this official met some Japanese warriors, they are strong in martial arts, it is difficult to defeat, but their whereabouts are extremely secretive, even if we want to eliminate them all, it is difficult to find their traces." The official wants to use these prisoners to attract the pirates hiding in the city, and then wipe them out. ”

Si Bing joined the army and Neng Jin listened carefully to Taihao's words, and said: "Although Lord Taihao's strategy is reasonable, but from Wenchuan City to Taichuan City to escort prisoners, we must arrange troops along the way, but Wenchuan City now only has 2,000 troops, and we don't know how many Japanese robbers are hidden here, if the disparity in strength is too great, our chances of victory will be very small." ”

Tai Hao was shocked: "Only two thousand troops? How much did General Nanzhu take away this time? ”

Shuangyu said: "Lord Taihao, that's the case, Wenchuan City originally had only 20,000 soldiers, because the anti-Japanese sacrificed a lot, and now there are still a total of 6,000 troops, General Nanzhu took away 4,000, and now there are only 2,000 left in the city." ”

When Taihao heard this, he felt a pang of worry in his heart. Wenchuan Castle only had 2,000 troops, and the Japanese were probably more than Fujiwara Nakaichi's group, and if the disparity in strength was too great, they would probably be wiped out.

He pondered for a moment, and then said to Shuangyu: "Lord Shuangyu, this official would like to ask you to write a letter on my behalf to the officials of each of the surrounding cities that have been harassed by the Japanese invaders, and invite them to come to Wenchuan City in three days to discuss the matter of jointly fighting the Japanese invaders. You have a few more reliable messengers to deliver the letter. Can? ”

Shuangyu arched his hand and said: "The lower official obeys the order!" ”

Tai Hao asked Ji Ting again: "Ji Ting justice, during the time that this official has not yet arrived, has there been any major case in Wenchuan City?" ”

Ji Ting said: "A few days ago, under the auspices of General Nanzhu, some thieves were arrested, those thieves were originally pretending to be widows, taking advantage of the fire in Wenchuan City to rob, after careful investigation by the lower officials, it was found that most of them were people from Wenchuan City, only one man from the outer city, when he was arrested, he kept shouting that he was wronged. But when he was arrested, he turned over the stolen goods on him, how could he be wronged? ”

Taihao said: "Oh? A common man from an outer city, when the Japanese were so rampant, dared to come to Wenchuan City, and was arrested for the crime of theft. This thing sounds a little strange, did you interrogate him why he said that he was wronged? ”

Ji Ting said: "Several other thieves quickly confessed, only he didn't confess, every time he was interrogated, he said that he was wronged, and said that the property on his body was picked up by himself, who would believe this kind of lie." ”

Tai Hao asked, "Which city did he come from?" ”

Ji Ting said: "According to his own confession, he is from a small city on the frontier, and his name is ...... Shizhu City. ”

Hearing the words "Shizhu City", Taihao thought of the appearance of his hometown in his mind, and remembered the place that haunted him and made him unforgettable. It had been many years since he left Shizhu City, and over the years, he often remembered the bits and pieces there, but he had never had a chance to go back. At this time, a strong sense of homesickness surged in his heart, and he seemed to be able to feel the breath of home, and that familiar and warm feeling made him want to go home. He remembered the good times he had spent in Shizhu City, the relatives and friends who had grown up with him...... Thinking of this, he suddenly felt the urge to cry.

But he calmed down and asked, "What's his name?" ”

Ji Ting thought for a while and replied, "He said his name is Chu Hong." ”

When Taihao was in Shizhu City, he didn't know that there was a man named Chu Hong there. But he knew an uncle named Chu Jiu, and he guessed that Chu Hong and Chu Jiu should be relatives. So, Tai Hao said to Ji Ting: "This official wants to personally interrogate this Chu Hong." ”

Ji Ting said: "Then the lower official will arrange it and let the officials escort Chu Hong here." ”

Tai Hao nodded and said, "There is Lao Jiting's justice!" ”

"This is the duty of the lower officials." Ji Ting responded and left.

Taihao walked from the front hall to the public hall of the yamen, and after sitting down, waiting for the time of half a stick of incense, a servant came to report: "My lord, the prisoner has been brought!" ”

Taihao responded: "Good! Immediately, he slapped his hands and shouted, "Ascension!" Bring the prisoner Chu Hong up. ”

After Chu Hong was escorted to the hall, Tai Hao first looked at him a few times, and found that this Chu Hong was more than ten years younger than himself, and then asked, "Chu Hong, are you guilty?" ”

Chu Hong said: "My lord, the little one is wronged, I have never done anything to hurt heaven and reason." ”

Taihao said: "Don't quibble, the stolen goods were found on you, and you dare to say that you didn't steal it?" ”

Chu Hong said aggrievedly: "My lord, those are all picked up by the small ones on the side of the road, and the small ones originally wanted to hand over those things to the government, but as soon as they were put on themselves, they were arrested by the officials......

Tai Hao said: "What you said is true? ”

"Don't dare to deceive the adults, what the little ones say is true." Chu Hong replied.

Tai Hao asked, "You said before that your family is from Shizhu City?" ”

Chu Hong said: "If you go back to the adult, the small one is from Shizhu City." ”

"Look up and see if you know this officer?" Taihao asked.

Chu Hong slowly raised his head, looked at Tai Hao, and responded: "The little one doesn't know the adult, and the little one who was interrogated by another adult before was ......"

Tai Hao asked tentatively, "What's your grandfather's name?" ”

Chu Hong didn't answer, and asked softly: "I don't know why adults ask who the little grandfather is?" ”

Tai Hao said in a deep voice: "If the official asks you, you answer truthfully!" ”

Chu Hong's heart sank, knowing that things were not good, and hurriedly said: "The little grandfather is called Chu Jiu, and the youngest child in the family is twenty-three, so the little one's name is Twenty-three." ”

When Chu Jiu was young, he once "dominated one side" in Shizhu City, and often took a group of younger brothers to fight around. Because he liked Yueying, a beautiful woman in Shizhu City, Chu Jiu tried to take her for himself, but Yueying ignored him. As a result, Chu Jiu became jealous of Hua Xi, who was only Yueying's friend at the time, and kidnapped Hua Xi. Fortunately, Huaxi was eventually rescued by Kexi. After a series of events, Yueying and Huaxi became husband and wife, and later they had Taihao. As time passed, Chu Jiu gradually grew up, no longer idle, and got married and had children early. Hua Xi and Chu Jiu have changed from enemies to friends, Hua Xi no longer lingers on the hatred of the past, and Chu Jiu also expressed his apologies to Hua Xi. Taihao has always called Chu Jiu his uncle when he was a child, Chu Jiu and his wife gave birth to a total of twenty-three children, and the year Tai Hao left Shizhu City, the twenty-third child of Chu Jiu was born. Therefore, Taihao had never seen Chu Jiu in Shizhu City.